Can’t a guy just get away for a few months at his family’s old cabin upstate? Do his city friends have to show up unannounced, en masse, all concerned and overhelpful?

Now that the intervention movie is a genre of its own, we know what’s coming in Craig DiFolco’s intelligent drama “The Last Day of August” even before Dan (Michael Izquierdo) does. But you can’t blame the friends, led by Mark (the very versatile stage actor Sebastian Arcelus). Dan is a paraplegic now, and he didn’t return to New York when he had said he would. And he’s drinking. The screenplay — by Mr. DiFolco and Sara Rempe — is intriguing, with expertly handled exposition.

We find out gradually what Dan’s relationship to each of these people is and how he became paralyzed. Actually, we find out a little too gradually, which is frustrating. The confrontation becomes even more strained when Dan’s new townie-waitress girlfriend, Shannon (Heather Lind), and his old investment banker fiancée, Phoebe (Vanessa Ray), encounter each other. The characters do not escape stereotyping, but the film deserves credit for looking at Shannon’s view of the relationship as well as that of the smug urban professionals.

The film benefits from nice performances and nice work by Mr. DiFolco (making his directorial debut), even if the ending is not as psychologically complex as earlier scenes lead us to hope.